Monday, April 9, 2012

Pff.... I'm trying to think how to sum up the whole Vienna experience. I don't know where to start, and it doesn't even seem very important now after we have spent an intense week and half with family and friends in Denmark and Iceland, and are looking towards all that is about to start in Boston in just a couple of days. I talked to the woman next to me on the plane to Iceland (a kid is an excellent ice breaker). An Icelandic woman who had lived 38 years in Denmark. She was telling me, how she would feel her roots instantly grow hundreds of meters through the ground every time she'd put her feet on Icelandic soil, although she loved living in Denmark and felt very much at ease there -- there was just an instant connection every time she went back home. The past week and half I've felt connected in the same way, making Vienna feel far far away. Nevertheless, I want to finish this blog in proper manner, which requires a couple of words:

For us Vienna was mostly about studying/finishing studies and building our own little family.

Had we had more time and energy I think we would have put more effort into building a well grounded network (expat networks are fragile with people constantly coming and going), we would definitely have gone on more trips outside of the city, and we'd probably put more discipline into learning the language. But in the end there is just so much one can do, and despite real-life shortcomings to the ideal stay, I feel confident to say we made the most of it. It was fun, tough, frustrating, smokey, eye-opening, inspiring, challenging, and rewarding. Although it was hard at times, and it surely was, I leave with lots of great memories: the weekly farmer markets, Augarten around the corner, cakes!, Christmas markets, the great public transport system, Sturm, the health care system (great with a little one), the sound of horse carriages during lectures, the inexpensive child care opportunities, the beautiful city center and Wiener Melange. All that is pretty amazing. That also means there are plenty of good reasons for the three of us to come back to visit Austria and Vienna; not least to see all of what we never managed to do and see this time around.

Thanks for following our journey in Wien. If interested you can follow the next one over on Where do we go next?

Friday, April 6, 2012

Greetings from Iceland! I ran out of time in Vienna. I will be back with another picture post, and hopefully some thoughts about the whole experience in retrospect. For now I wish you a happy and sunny Easter!